A strained knee won’t keep U.S. Olympic gold medalist
Jeremy Wariner from serving as honorary chair of Saturday’s Heroes for Children
5K.

Wariner, a 400-meter specialist with three gold and two silver Olympic
medals, won’t be able to run the event this year. The former Arlington Lamar and
Baylor track star will help start the race and present age group awards at the
Shops at Legacy in Plano.

Last year, Wariner and his wife, siblings and parents participated in the 5K
and 1-mile fun run that supports families with children battling cancer.
Organizers scheduled the race this month because it’s Childhood Cancer Awareness
month.

Wariner, 29, lives down the street from Larissa Linton, one of the race
founders. Linton shared with Wariner and his wife that she had lost her
daughter, Taylor, to cancer. Linton created a nonprofit, Taylor’s Angels, in
memory of her daughter to provide financial assistance to families with a child
battling cancer.

In the fall of 2004, Linton met Jenny Scott, who had just lost her daughter,
Allie, to the same form of cancer as Taylor, acute myeloid leukemia. The two
bonded. Both were grateful for the support they received from friends, family
and the community while they dealt with daily challenges and coped with
tragedy.

Both saw the need to help other families, struggling with expenses, worrying
about feeding other family members, even leaving their sick children alone in
the hospital to work or attend to other children.

“I don’t know if I could get through something like that,” Wariner said. “It
is amazing they can be so strong.”

They pooled their resources and created Heroes for Children in December
2004.

“We were both very blessed during the time of our daughters’ treatments,”
Scott said. “We both felt no one should feel alone during this time.”

In the past nine years, Heroes for Children has donated more than $4.5
million to services for nearly 5,000 families across Texas, Linton said. Last
year, more than 820 families were served, and the average grant was $750.

In the 2012 race, Wariner finished the 5K in “a little over 20 minutes,” he
said.

He then spoke with families, who were receiving support by the nonprofit.

“It makes you understand what they’re going through,” said Wariner, who
donated an autographed pair of running shoes this year. “There’s more to it than
the treatment their children are going through.”

For information, visit heroesforchildren.org.

Two area tri clubs form partnership: Dallas Athletes and
Playtri, two of the area’s largest and oldest multi-sport companies, are now
partners, effective Sept. 1.

“It’s a strategic alliance,” Dallas Athletes founder Tom Ryan said. “It’s a
working partnership. We will be working hand in hand to make things better for
the athlete.”

Dallas Athletes is known for its beginner-friendly, group training programs,
its fun, themed races and its high-energy marketing.

Playtri offers high level, one-on-one coaching, produces competitive races
and has two area stores with plans to open two more next year.

Both said the partnership will evolve as the clubs merge. There will be
training and race schedule announcements in coming weeks.

Briefly: Luke’s Locker will open two area stores in the
next two years. Its Highland Village store is expected to open in October. A
White Rock Lake venue will open late in 2014, company president Matt Lucas said.
… Dallas’ Angela Tortorice, 45, finished
Saturday’s Pocatello Marathon in Idaho in 5 hours, 48 minutes, 40
seconds. It was her 129th marathon from Sept. 1, 2012, through Aug. 31, 2013,
setting what is expected to be a Guinness world record for most marathons
completed in a year by a female. … Nearly 50 North Texans are participating in
Sunday’s Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas.

FOR MORE running news, check out Debbie Fetterman’s blog at
runningblog.dallasnews.com.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.